The Goo Goo Dolls A Boy Named Goo (1995) Review

The Goo Goo Dolls "A Boy Named Goo 
Let’s rewind to the year 1995. It’s the year that I purchased an alternative rock record in cassette form that would end up breaking over time. It was none other than the Goo Goo Dolls release “A Boy Named Goo”. The band was riding high on the release of “Naked”, but I picked up the record when I first saw the movie “Angus”. If you remember that movie fondly, you know that these guys had a track on the record that would go platinum. Right? I think it went platinum, I’m not sure.

Whatever the case is, “A Boy Named Goo” is a strong contender for the best alternative record of 1995 in my opinion. It embodies the slick production, and killer guitar work with distortion, solos, and vocals that were prominent at the time. Even though I’m not a fan of the band’s work past this album, this record had me tripped up and my cassette tape was on replay non-stop. The opening track alone is enough to get any rock fan interested, as the guitar work is solid, the drums kick nicely, and the bass guitar work is right on par with some of the better punk stylings that you heard coming through the late 1980s. “Long Way Down” has pop sensibility, but it’s the driving vocals and guitar riffs that made this one of the best openers of all time. The drumming too is solid here, which I can always appreciate.


The record doesn’t immediately launch into a heavy laden track of epic proportions, however, as “Burnin’ UP” switched the singers. Yep. When I was a youngster I didn’t like that, but with cassettes, you couldn’t just fast forward easily, so I powered through the track, and waked for the hit single “Naked” to start. That being said, I am different now, I’m an adult, and I appreciate the bass work and drums on the tracks with Robby Takac singing. Plus, this let Johnny work his guitar magic, which is a highlight of “Burnin’ Up”.

Of course I can go on and on about this record from 1995, but I won’t. Instead, I encourage you to go back to listen to this record and see why it sold so well, and became a standard in alternative music circles. Again, I didn’t really get into the records after this one, but I feel that it’s still one of the best examples of mid 1990s alternative rock music. It features some great guitar work, solid bass, and standout drumming in 13 tracks and 42 minutes of good rock music. If you haven’t heard this in a while, go ahead and buy it for the 25th Anniversary Set HERE, which I recommend.

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